Mouth guard structure



Aug. 31, 1965 N. D. HELMER MOUTH GUARD STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 18, 1963FIG. 3

FIG. I

FIG. 4

INVENTOR NORMAN D. HELMER ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,203,417 MOUTHGUARD STRUCTURE Norman D. Helmer, 6298 E. Ucean Blvd, Long Beach, Calif.Filed Jan. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 252,380 8 Claims. (Cl. 128--136) Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of my colpending applicationSerial No. 166,044, filed January 15, 1962, now Patent No. 3,082,765,granted March 26, 1 963, and entitled Protector for the Lips and Teeth.

This invention relates generally to sporting goods, and moreparticularly to a mouth guard .for the protection of the wearers teethand lips.

A major object of the present invention is to provide a mouth guard thatprotects both the teeth and lips of the wearer, is compact, lightweight,and is extremely simple structurally whereby it is adapted to be moldedor otherwise fabricated more economically than the mouth guard shown insaid copending application.

A further object of the invention is to supply a mouth guard to protecteither the teeth or lips of the wearer which can be readily cleansed andmaintained in a sanitary condition, and due to the simple structurethereof, can be retailed at a sufficiently low price as to be within thefinancial reach of all those having need for such a device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a twopiece guard that maybe easily molded and assembled, and one that can be disassembled forcleansing purposes.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following description of a preferred form andalternate forms thereof, and from the accompanying drawings illustratingthe same in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the preferred form of the mouthguard shown held in the wearers mouth in a position to protect his teethas well as his lips;

(FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of device;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the mouth guard taken on line -33of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a rear end elevational view of the device taken on line 4-4of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the elongate sheet of resilent material,which when folded upon itself forms a teeth-engaging cushion that is soformed as to permit forward insertion thereof through the protectiveshell forming a part of the mouth guard in the manner shown in FIGURE 3.

Referring to FIGURES l-S inclusive of the drawings for the generalarrangement of the preferred form of the present invention, in FIGURES2-3 it will be seen to include a curved, elongate resilient shield Awhich is sufficiently long and wide to cover and protect the lips (notshown) of a wearer B in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1. An elongatesheet C of resilient material, such as rubber or the like, is provided(FIGURE 5) that may be doubled over upon itself to provide a resilientcushion which the wearer may grip by his teeth. The doubled-over sheet Cprojects through an elongate slot D which extends longitudinally acrossthe center of the resilient shield A.

The resilient sheet C is preferably rectangular, and two pairs oflongitudinally spaced notches and 12 are formed in the side portionsthereof, as best shown in FIGURE 5. The notches 10 and 12 serve todivide the resilient sheet C into a central portion 14, a first endportion 16 and a second end portion 18. A number of transversely spaced,longitudinally extending ribs 20 project from one side of end portion16. The width of the sheet C is substantially greater than the length ofthe slot D in shield A and the transverse spacing of the innerextremities of the pairs of notches 10 and 12 is substantially the sameas the length of the slot D in shield A.

The resilient sheet C is capable of being folded transversely along afolding line 22 and when so folded, the ribs 20 are in abutting contactwith the upper surface of the second end portion 1 8 as may best be seenin FIGURE 4. The ribs 20 cooperate with the adjacent sunfiaces of theend portions 16 and 18 when the sheet C is in the folded configurationas shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 to provide a number of longitudinallyextending air passages 24. The doubled-over central portion 14 is thenpressed forwardly through the slot D to assume the position shown inFIGURE 3, where portion 14 defines a transversely extending air passage26 which is in communication with passages 24. The forward and rear endedges of the pains of notches 10 and .1 2 engage forward and rear endsurface portions of the shield A adjacent the ends of slot D and serveto removably hold the folded-over sheet C in a fixed position relativeto the shield.

The ribs 20 may be either molded as an integral part of sheet C orcomprise separate strips of resilient material bonded to the sheet byconventional means. One particular advantage of the preferred form ofthe invention is that the resilient sheet C is easily removed from theshield A, and when disposed in the position shown in FIGURE 5, is easilycleansed. Should it be desired, after sheet C has been folded over(FIGURE 3) the upper surface of the ribs 20 shown in FIGURE 5 can bebonded to the upper surface of the end portion 18 to pro vide anintegrally formed cushion for the teeth that may be removably insertedin the shell as previously described. Bonding of the ribs 20 to sheet C,as well as bonding of the end portion 18 to the upper surface of theribs may be effected by any one of the various commercially availableadhesives, such as an epoxy resin, ideally adapted for this purpose.

While the mouth guard of the present invention is of simpleconstruction, its special advantage resides in the fact that it permitsthe wearer to breathe freely while his teeth are tightly clenched on therelatively thin resilient cushion thereof. Shield A preferably has anopening 28 formed in the lower portion thereof which is removablyengaged by a piece of string or cord 30 that is also attached to thechin guard 32 (FIGURE 1) to prevent loss of the mouth guard when in use.

The use and operation of the preferred form of the mouth guard are quitesimple. The sheet C is folded into the configuration shown in FIGURE 3,and caused to removably engage shield A as previously described indetail. When the portions 16 and 18 are gripped between the teeth (notshown) of the user, the shield A is in the lip protecting position shownin FIGURE 1. With the device so disposed in the users mouth it ispossible for him to breathe through the air passages 24 and 26 shown inFIGURES 3 and 4. The shield A is removed from the sheet C of the mouthguard to facilitate cleansing thereof.

Although the present invention is fully capable of achieving the objectsand providing the advantages hereinbefore mentioned, it is to beunderstood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferredembodiment thereof and I do not means to be limited to the details ofconstruction herein shown and described, other than as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A two-piece protective guard for the lips and upper and lower teethof a person including:

(a) a longitudinally curved, resilient shield adapted to extend oversaid lips of the user thereof, which shield has a longitudinallyextending, centrally disposed slot formed therein;

(b) an elongate sheet of a resilient material substantially wider thanthe length of said slot, said sheet having first and second pairs ofnotches formed in the longitudinal sides thereof, with the width of saidsheet between the inner extremities of each pair of said notches beingsubstantially the same as the length of said slot, which notches dividesaid sheet into a central portion and first and second end portions; and

(c) a plurality of transversely spaced, longitudinally extending ribsprojecting from one side of said first end portion, with said ribs whensaid sheet is transversely folded in said central portion overlying saidsecond end portion and cooperating therewith to define a plurality oflongitudinally extending air breathing passages, which centralfolded-over portion projects forwardly from said shield through saidslot, with the forward and rear edges of said notches engaging theportions of said shield adjacent the ends of said slot to preventinadvertent displacement of said sheet from said shield, and with saidfolded over central portion cooperating with said shield to define atransverse air passage that is in communication with said air passagesdefined by said ribs between said first and second end portions.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said ribs are bonded to saidfirst end portion.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said ribs are integrallyformed with said sheet.

4. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein the surfaces of said ribs mostadjacent said second portion when said sheet is transversely folded arebonded to said second end portion.

5. A two-piece protective guard for the lips and upper and lower teeththat can be disassembled for cleansing purposes, including:

(a) a longitudinally curved, resilient shield adapted to extend oversaid lips of the user thereof, which shield has a longitudinallyextending slot formed therein;

(b) a doubled-over elongate rectangular sheet of a resilient materialwhich extends through said slot to place the fold of said doubled-oversheet forwardly of said shield;

(c) first means for removably holding said doubledover sheet in saidslot; and

(d) second means positioned between said doubledover sheet rearwardly ofsaid shield for defining at least one breathing passage thatcommunicates with a breathing passage formed in said fold forwardly ofsaid shield, with said sheet and said shield being separable forcleansing purposes.

6. A protective guard as defined in claim 5 wherein said sheet is ofgreater width than said slot, with said first means comprising two pairsof longitudinally spaced notches formed in the sides thereof that dividesaid sheet into a central portion and first and second end portions,which pairs of notches when in alignment removably engage portions ofsaid shield adjacent the ends of said slot to dispose said centralportion in doubled-over form forwardly of said shield, and said firstand second end portions rearwardly of said shield.

7. A protective guard as defined in claim 6 wherein said second meanscomprise a plurality of spaced ribs disposed between said doubled-oversheet rearwardly of said shield which define at least one of saidbreathing passages therebetween.

8. A protective guard as defined in claim 7 wherein said ribs are anintegral part of said sheet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,674,336 6/28King 128l36 2,521,039 9/50 Carpenter 128136 2,589,504 3/52 Miller 1281362,702,032 2/55 Freeland 128136 12,847,003 8/58 Helmer 128l36 3,082,7653/63 Helmer 128-436 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

5. A TWO-PIECE PROTECTIVE GUARD FOR THE LIPS AND UPPER AND LOWER TEETHTHAT CAN BE DISASSEMBLED FOR CLEANSING PURPOSES, INCLUDING: (A) ALONGITUDINAL CURVED, RESILIENT SHIELD ADAPTED TO EXTEND OVER SAID LIPSOF THE USER THEREOF, WHICH SHIELD HAS A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLOTFORMED THEREIN; (B) A DOUBLED-OVER ELONGATE RECTANGULAR SHEET OF ARESILIENT MATERIAL WHICH EXTENDS THROUGH SAID SLOT TO PLACE THE FOLD OFSAID DOUBLE-OVER SHEET FORWARDLY OF SAID SHIELD; (C) FIRST MEANS FORREMOVABLY HOLDING SAID DOUBLEDOVER SHEET IN SAID SLOT; AND (D) SECONDMEANS POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID DOUBLEDOVER SHEET REARWARDLY OF SAIDSHIELD FOR DEFINING AT LEAST ONE BREATHING PASSAGE THAT COMMUNICATESWITH A BREATHING PASSAGE FORMED IN SAID FOLD FORWARDLY OF SAID SHIELD,WITH SAID SHEET AND SAD SHIELD BEING SEPARABLE FOR CLEANSING PURPOSES.